Oliver wins at Osborne

“I was blown away when I first came here yesterday” says Oliver Townend who today won the River Lodge Equestrian The Albert Bowl on board ‘a family favourite’, the semi-retired Black Tie II owned by Oliver’s manager and good friend Karen Shuter

Clear show jumping for Oliver and Black Tie II

Oliver and Black Tie II were the second last to head out on cross country and they added just 2.8 time penalties to their dressage score to finish on 30.8. Only one combination could beat them – Hector Payne and Top Biats – but they had a couple of problems on course and opted to walk home, giving Oliver the win.

For once, Oliver was not the fastest rider on cross country as Matt Heath riding Sportsfield Lord Livesey (above) beat him to that honour, finishing with just 1.2 time penalties in second place on a score of 32.6